Message

A concept paper on digitisation, employability and inclusiveness the role of Europe

Abstrak

Over the last year or so, there have been numerous expressions of concerns that digitisation, in particular robots and artificial intelligence, will replace jobs and increase inequality. These concerns come from the research community, technologists and trade unions and are widely reported in the media. As a result, according to the latest Eurobarometer survey1, while 75% of Europeans think that digitisation has a positive effect on the economy, 74% also think that digitisation replaces more jobs than it creates. As digitisation is a major vector of change in European societies, it is important that the European Union takes the fears expressed seriously, even if they may be partly unfounded and rely more on perceptions than on evidence.
This does not mean that the European Union should embrace the pessimistic views expressed by some of the analysts. On the contrary, for two decades the European Union has consistently believed2 that digitisation is and will be an important source of economic growth3 and jobs creation as the two always come together. Our main objective is to manage the changes well and turn ongoing digital developments into real opportunities. We need to acknowledge that there is a need to accompany people through this transition - and as some tasks will be replaced, workers will have to work with machines, traditional occupations will be modified and new activities will emerge. Policies need to be put in place to address the adjustment costs that the digital transformation of the economy brings about on the labour market.